Pears Poached In Port With Mascarpone Food

HONEY-POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Toss pears with lemon juice in large bowl. Set aside. Combine 1 cup water, wine and honey in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves. Add pears. Cover mixture with round piece of parchment paper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pears are just tender when pierced, turning when half-way through cooking, about 15 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to large bowl. Boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Cool syrup. Pour syrup over pears. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove vanilla bean.
• Whisk mascarpone cheese, sugar and brandy in large bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup chilled poaching syrup and whisk until soft peaks form.
• Thinly slice each pear half lengthwise, leaving slices attached at stem end. Using metal spatula, transfer pears to plates. Gently press on pears to fan slightly. Spoon some syrup over pears. Spoon mascarpone cream alongside each pear half and serve.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE FILLING

Steps:

• Peel pears and leave stem intact. In a large saucepan, bring wine and an equal amount of cold water to a simmer. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and add to wine and water mixture. Add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and sugar, to taste. Add pears to liquid and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Cool pears in wine mixture to room temperature. You can refrigerate them in the poaching liquid until you're ready to fill them.
• Remove stems from pears and set stems aside. Core pears with an apple corer, leaving pear whole.
• Whisk together mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, pinch cinnamon and powdered sugar until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag, or if you do not have one, use wax paper tightly wrapped into a cone with the corner snipped off. Pipe filling into cored pears and finish by putting the stems gently into the mascarpone filling on top of the pears.
• Bring sauce up to a simmer and reduce by half. Add butter to reduced sauce and stir until combined. Spoon generously over pears. Cool to room temperature before serving.

RED WINE POACHED ANJOU PEARS STUFFED WITH MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Place the wine, peppercorns, vanilla beans, zest, cardamom and sugar in a 2 1/2-quart saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the saucepan to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer. Place the pears in the saucepan and cook for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until the pears are tender.
• Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and set aside on a plate. Allow them to cool completely.
• While the pears are cooling, strain the poaching liquid and discard solids. Return the liquid to the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and reduce the poaching liquid to a syrup, about 5 to 10 minutes. You should have about 1/2 cup syrup. Set aside.
• When the pears are cool enough to handle, remove the inner core using a melon baller. Stuff each pear with 2 tablespoons of the mascarpone.
• To serve, pour about 2 tablespoons of the poaching syrup on a chilled appetizer plate with a pear in the center. Sprinkle toasted pistachios around the plate and garnish with mint leaves and orange zest. Drizzle with creme anglaise, if desired.

PORT POACHED PEARS WITH WHITE TRUFFLE HONEY MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Split vanilla beans and scrape out seeds.
• Add seeds and pod to port in a 2 quart saucepan along with cinnamon sticks. Warm gently to meduim heat.
• Peel pears and quarter them. Scrape out the core and place into Port mixture.
• Simmer until tender.
• Whip honey and cheese together until well blended.
• Drain pears and place on a serving platter.
• Drizzle with additional honey and then pipe Mascarpone rosettes on each piece.

POACHED RED PEARS IN PORT WINE

Steps:

• Peel and core the pears. Place them in a saucepot with anise and Port wine. Bring to a boil and cook until the alcohol is burned off - be careful as the mixture may ignite. Once alcohol is burned off, drop heat to a simmer and add in the pears, making sure they are fully submerged. Pears should simmer for at least 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the pears once they are tender. Return the port to a simmer and cook until reduced by 3/4 and syrupy.
• In a small saucepan, place ginger root and 4 to 5 tablespoons of sugar. Cook until sugar caramelizes. Remove from the heat and place on a parchment lined sheet pan to cool.
• Melt chocolate over a double-boiler.
• Whip cream to stiff peaks. Sweeten with powdered sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Set aside to chill.
• Use the reduced wine as a sauce or garnish. Once pears are done and tender, place on plate. Fill with chocolate and top with whipped cream. Garnish with candied ginger and drizzle with reduced wine. Serve warm.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD

Steps:

• For the pears: Remove a large strip of peel from the lemon and set aside. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl filled with water. Peel, halve and core the pears, adding the pears to the lemon water as you work (this will prevent them from browning).
• Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon stick and reserved lemon peel in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pears from the lemon water and add to the wine mixture. Boil the pears until tender, 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid to a wire rack to cool. If desired, continue to boil the poaching liquid until syrupy, about 10 minutes.
• For the vanilla bean custard sauce: Combine the cream and milk in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the cream mixture along with the scraped bean. Place over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges, then remove from the heat and remove the vanilla bean.
• Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Gradually add a little of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. Remove the custard from the saucepan and cool slightly.
• To serve, spoon some of the custard sauce onto serving plates and top each with a pear half. Dollop with whipped cream and sprinkle with candied pecans, if desired.

EASY POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine lemon zest, cinnamon stick, allspice, ground pepper, apple cider, and water.
• Add pears. Cover with waxed paper to prevent discoloring. Bring to a simmer. Cook, turning pears occasionally, until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Remove pears from liquid; transfer to large bowl.
• Raise heat to high; boil cider mixture until reduced to a syrup, about 15 minutes. Discard cinnamon. Pour syrup over pears; refrigerate. To serve, slice off a sliver from the bottom of each pear (so it stands upright). Serve pears with lemon sorbet, if desired.

POACHED PEARS IN SPICED RED WINE

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.

PEARS IN PORT WITH MERINGUE CREAM

Steps:

• Pour the port into a large pan with 600ml water, add the sugar and cinnamon, then heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the pears, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20-30 mins until tender all the way through. They are ready when a cocktail stick can be easily pushed through each one. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook the pears in 2 batches using the same port syrup, or turn the pears several times as they cook so they become an even colour. Let the pears cool in their syrup, preferably overnight to allow the syrup to really stain them. Will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
• Check the consistency of the syrup. If it is very thin, boil it in a pan to reduce the amount and concentrate the flavour.
• To serve, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it holds its shape, then fold in the meringue. Sprinkle with the cinnamon. Arrange the pears in a shallow dish and spoon over the syrup. Allow guests to help themselves to both pears and cream.

POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Combine the wine, water, sugar and cinnamon in a deep nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes.
• Add the pears and simmer 15 minutes, until the pears are just tender. Remove the pears from the liquid, draining them well, and place them in a bowl.
• Boil down the liquid until it is reduced to two cups and has become syrupy. Remove the cinnamon stick. Pour the liquid over the pears and refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.
• To serve, place each pear standing up in a deep dish or goblet. Pour some of the cooking liquid over each.
• Stir the mascarpone to smooth it, then spoon a generous dollop on top of each pear. It will begin to drip down the sides of the pear. Dust with sifted cocoa and serve.